The Standoff
by lorkster
Summary: Clark vs Shelby vs an innocent Ollie...plus Lois has a cold!


Title: The Stand-off  
Author: Sephiroth/Lork  
Claims: I do not own Smallville...if I did, the Lana arc would never have happened.

_**The Stand-off**_

Blue-green eyes stared at golden-brown eyes, the expressions mirroring each other…the message the same: BACK OFF!!! Neither party moved; neither one of them flinched as the warm morning breeze rustled the curtains and tried to thaw off the ice field that was created by this tension filled moment.

For a moment, one would be forgiven for having mistaken these two as wonderful sculpted works of art for each was a delightful specimen in their own right; with the sun hitting at the perfect angle, they were a sight to behold.

It did not matter that one was at a serious advantage in height, superhuman abilities plus the dialect of human speech. None of that was important; all that mattered was pleasing the female on the other side of the door who was currently down with a horrible bout of flu after a crazy stint in an afternoon downpour.

Of course such an issue was always meant to arise…it had just needed the right moment. Each party had drawn the lines and boundaries and come to a sort-of absurd agreement on caring for one such female; one of them was lucky enough to win the right-to-sleep-on-same-bed-as-female while the other party was relegated to chief-maid in charge of soups and emptying the bin full of tissues as it was deemed unnecessary for him to sleep on the bed. After all, the said female was worried that he too would catch the cold. Who could blame her for not knowing his superhuman immune system?

Before this absurd agreement was put in place, there had been hilarious strategies to thwart the work of the enemy party such as hiding a red jacket in the backyard or finding a favorite chew-toy high up in a tree. Both parties finally came to an agreement when it was discovered that the supply of red jackets was limitless, and that going to work with chewed-through shoes was not helpful. The female would also aid in deciding the issue.

The lucky winner for the right-to-sleep-on-same-bed-as-female considered that a major victory in his opinion as his opponent had been blessed by fate/circumstances/shrewdness with the opportunity to share every glorious day with the said female at the workplace. He himself could only be satisfied with a few weekends and those rare moments when she decided to surprise him. Of course, his opponent pulled out the "We're working excuse" each time too much attention was lavished this way.

However, all that was forgotten as these two faced each other with the cause of the current stand-off lying innocently between them. Each dared the other to make the first move; each dared the other to break the stare-down and reach for the item in question: an innocently wrapped Daily Planet newspaper with a slight tear on the edge. The tear had occurred in the slight scuffled that erupted once the newspaper appeared. Of course being the gentleman that he was, the blue-green eyed opponent had decided not to use superpowers to win, which his brown-eyed opponent considered an insult and thus the stand-off.

Neither one moved as the front door opened and a cheerful voice was heard calling out. Oliver Queen soon appeared a puzzled look at his face.

"Hey, Clark, I've been knocking for hours and no one was responding. How is Lois doing?"

Clark, never looking at Ollie for even a moment, responded, "She's in there, waiting for today's paper."

Ollie looked at the item in question.

"Oh, you mean this," and with that, he bent, picked up the item in question and went inside the invalid's room, not knowing what he had just done.

"Ollie…I knew I could count on you…now hand over that paper…" Lois' voice was heard followed by a sneezing fit and the door was closed.

Both Clark and his opponent-at-arms stared in shock at the closed door; the situation had been taken out of their hands. Looking back at each other, it was decided with a nod, that they now had a common enemy and a form of alliance had to be made. A truce was declared in the face of the new enemy.

Oliver Queen, he of the golden smile, golden hair and golden abs would never fully understand why Clark Kent and Shelby were glaring at him as he came out of Lois' room, having left her sneezing while she read the paper.

Master and dog were in the same rigid pose with similar murderous looks sent his way. He could only gulp, not knowing he had become a third party in the war to please Ms. Lane.

* * *

_I love Shelby and I had been missing him when I wrote this. By the way, this fic is quite old and had already been on DI_. _Read and review...hope you enjoy_


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